Misdemeanor for crash pilot

2008-07-30

In cooperation with BNS

TALLINN - The amateur flier who piloted thesmall aircraft that crashed in South Estonialast week is highly likely facing a misdemeanor proceeding as he did not have a pilot's license and the plane was notentered in the aircraft register.

As with ordinary planes, a superlight aircraft has to beentered in the register for operation, but the crashed plane was not, the headof the Civil Aviation Administration's legal department, Gerli Rebane, said. Anaircraft also has to be certified airworthy by the administration.

"As the aviation administration has not yet started amisdemeanor proceeding, it's not possible to say at this point whichrequirements the crashed aircraft met or did not meet, but that will beestablished in the course of the misdemeanor proceeding," Rebane told BNS.

A a person also needs a pilot's license in order to fly asuperlight aircraft which the man did not possess.

The aviation authority will be able to launch the misdemeanorproceeding after the police have completed the criminal probe into the crash.Prosecutor Milvi Vain from the regional prosecutor's office said the case willbe closed soon because the person who caused the accident was the only oneinjured in it.

A two-seater Beaver RX 550 propeller aircraft crashed at theold military airfield in the southern Valga County on Friday evening.

Rescuers said the aircraft flying at an altitude of 50 meterssuddenly started losing height and then crashed into the ground. Before therescuers' arrival, people in the area had helped the pilot out of the plane andan ambulance took him to hospital. The plane burst into flames after the pilothad got out and was completely destroyed. The pilot was alone in the aircraft.

The pilot was only on his second flight in a superlightaircraft.

The man's life is not in danger, medics said. "Hisinjuries are grave but he's going to recover. Considering the seriousness ofthe accident, you could say the pilot was born under a lucky star," boardmember of the Tartu University clinic Margus Ulst said.

Subscribe!

A subscription to The Baltic Times is a cost-effective way of staying in touch with the latest Baltic news and views enabling you full access from anywhere with an Internet connection. Subscribe Now!

About The Baltic Times

The Baltic Times is an independent monthly newspaper that covers latest political, economic, business, and cultural events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Born of a merger between The Baltic Independent and The Baltic Observer in 1996, The Baltic Times continues to bring objective, comprehensive, and timely information to those with an interest in this rapidly developing area of the Baltic Sea region. Read more...Our news analysis and commentaries provide readers with insight essential to understanding the three Baltic countries and their neighbors. With offices in Tallinn and Vilnius and its headquarters in Riga, The Baltic Times remains the only pan-Baltic English language newspaper offering complete coverage of regional events.